my upgrade journal/journey

[UncommonSense]

so im trying to learn this new sump. how do you know the how full? i had a mark on my other one so i knew when to top off

Are siphon breaks in place?

— Have you set up the return lines within the DT so they’re not going to siphon out multiple inches of water from it during a power outage/return pump(s) shutdown?

— that is, return nozzles placed near the water’s surface, and/or drilling a 1/8”-1/4” hole in the plumbing for each return within the tank, pointed/angled so water doesn’t spray everywhere!

(These measures ensure that the return plumbing within the DT manages to suck in enough air to break the inevitable siphon which occurs during a return pump shutdown!)


Assuming siphon breaks are in place:

— with sump return chamber not extremely full already (preferably under a third-full)

— turn off return pumps, wait several minutes for water level in display to drop, then stabilize…

— sump water level will go up significantly, the high water line here is where your sump will be in the event of a power outage…

— if you have significant amounts of extra water volume to spare in your sump, even with the power off, you can run a higher operating sump return chamber water line!

(The trick is just leaving enough unused sump water capacity to prevent the sump from overflowing during a power outage!)

 

[smitten with ocean life]

ok this was an overload for my pea brain! lol. no there is nothing that i know of to stop a syphon! ive been worried about that. when i shut the return pumps off, im scared the sump will overflow!

 

[UncommonSense]

ok this was an overload for my pea brain! lol. no there is nothing that i know of to stop a syphon! ive been worried about that. when i shut the return pumps off, im scared the sump will overflow!

Okay, for now/today:

— Adjust the location of your return nozzles within the DT to be just under the water’s surface

— turn off your return pumps, observe how rapidly the siphons break with this new nozzle placement

—. From here, examine the return plumbing within the tank to make a plan for where to drill a small hole in each return, probably next time you’ve got a half hour to spend working on it!

(I’m recommending also drilling a hole in each of the returns in-tank plumbing as a redundancy measure; if you accidentally bump your return nozzles deeper underwater while working in the tank, the drilled holes are your fail safe against flooding the room!)

 

[kevgib67]

some new corals from @Williamson’s Reef ! thanks keith! love them! the plates are taking their time opening up

Beautiful Jill! I never heard of William’s reef.

 

[smitten with ocean life]

Okay, for now/today:

— Adjust the location of your return nozzles within the DT to be just under the water’s surface

— turn off your return pumps, observe how rapidly the siphons break with this new nozzle placement

—. From here, examine the return plumbing within the tank to make a plan for where to drill a small hole in each return, probably next time you’ve got a half hour to spend working on it!

(I’m recommending also drilling a hole in each of the returns in-tank plumbing as a redundancy measure; if you accidentally bump your return nozzles deeper underwater while working in the tank, the drilled holes are your fail safe against flooding the room!)

where do you drill the hole? there is a hole on the piece of plastic that the nozzle attaches to the plumbing thru the back. but its not enough to stop the syphon

 

[tbrown]

where do you drill the hole? there is a hole on the piece of plastic that the nozzle attaches to the plumbing thru the back. but its not enough to stop the syphon

It's enough. I used to drill a 1/8" hole.

 

[tbrown]

Do you have RFGs from VCA or what nozzles?

 

[UncommonSense]

there is a hole on the piece of plastic that the nozzle attaches to the plumbing thru the back. but its not enough to stop the syphon

That was likely done by the previous owner!

— it was probably facing straight up before, given that it’s submerged!

— When plumbing was removed/reinstalled, that part was rotated to be pointing down/sideways!

I recommend unscrewing the threaded part with the hole drilled in it, adding a few more wraps of Teflon tape, then screwing it back in; stopping when it’s screwed in “enough”, and has the hole pointed up!

— or, you could just drill a second, new hole pointing straight up in each of those parts!

 

[smitten with ocean life]

Do you have RFGs from VCA or what nozzles?

no idea

 

[tbrown]

no idea

Standard nozzle. The Random Flow Generators are nice if you push enough flow through them.

 

[smitten with ocean life]

ok. ive been seeing the ad for them and thought they looked neat. hadnt looked into them though. i will now!

 

[Red_Beard]

I have rfgs on mine. Love them, can also recommend

 

[UncommonSense]

ok. ive been seeing the ad for them and thought they looked neat. hadnt looked into them though. i will now!

My 30-ish gal tank relies solely on the “eductor” effect of 3-6 1/4” RFGs for DT mixing! (From VCA, too!)

Torch/etc blow aimlessly to and fro in the breeze…



Deeper explanation:

The aforementioned eductor effect is a Venturi effect of sorts… akin to a carburetor’s function!

— the high pressure jet of water through the center of the trumpet shaped RFG nozzle creates a suction effect around the RFG nozzle, drawing DT water into the back of the trumpet, and mixing it with return pump water within the RFG nozzle!

— this eductor effect can more than double the observed total water flow through the nozzle, at the same return pump flow rate! (In more efficient designs)

— the RFG aspect of this device is actually just the addition of the spiraling “fins” inside the trumpet shaped eductor nozzle! These fins are of varying size, and cause the jet of water leaving the RFG nozzle to randomly change in cone angle every 1-3ish seconds! (Think of a less exaggerated runaway fire hose, spraying randomly in/around the target direction!)

 

[tbrown]

And they're made here in Arizona!

 

[tbrown]

The other thing with the RFGs is they have an open back that sucks the water in through the Venturi mentioned above while also sucking air in when the return pump shuts off causing a siphon break.

 

[smitten with ocean life]

oh boy. they have a lot to pick from! ill have to figure out what to get. the end of mine must just pull off? or twist maybe?

 

[tbrown]

oh boy. they have a lot to pick from! ill have to figure out what to get. the end of mine must just pull off? or twist maybe?

Should pop off.

 

[tbrown]

Sometimes take it and angle it downward and it'll pop off easier.

 

[smitten with ocean life]

ok. ill tackle it another day. i still am not sure i have this thing dialed in right. one of the nozzles barely moves water and the other just blasts. im not used to these cor 20s

 

[UncommonSense]

ok. ill tackle it another day. i still am not sure i have this thing dialed in right. one of the nozzles barely moves water and the other just blasts. im not used to these cor 20s

The pump controllers are at different power levels, fiddle with them a bit!